Page 223 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

Maybe that explained her willingness to wait and see where this led. Carrying anger so long had worn her down. She didn’t want that anymore. She couldn’t be that bitter, strung-too-tight person now.

Was a joint future possible between them? Sensible?

Dido grimaced, realising she was seriously considering it. Why else would she have agreed to this trip? She turned to watch the clouds through the plane window.

You know why. Because you want the future he described. You want the family. You want him.

That punched the air from her lungs. Were these feelings self-destructive? The first time she’d agreed to marry because she’d fallen in love. And now? She shied from labelling her feelings as anything more than want.

But when Panos had talked about letting her see more of his life and what was important to him, she’d barely hesitated before saying yes.

So here she was, accompanying him to a gala function for his favourite charity. He’d assured her he’d protect her from the press and keep any hint of their marital status secret. Importantly, she trusted his word.

He was going out of his way to ensure she had freedom of choice about where their relationship headed.

Meanwhile she knew exactly what she wanted. This man who was attentive to her and her daughter. Who was engaging and supportive like the stranger she’d fallen in love with years ago. The indulgent yet no-nonsense father. The considerate partner.

So considerate he’d slept with her for the last several nights, cocooning her close, not pushing for sex. Even when she’d felt the solid heat of his erection pressed against her, he hadn’t asked for more, just held her in his arms.

That felt like a deeper, more significant intimacy than the knock-your-socks-off sex they’d shared.

Which didn’t stop her craving sex with him. But instead of voicing that hunger, she’d held back too, determined to think things through before moving their relationship forward. Though as the days passed it became more difficult to contain her longing.

In so many ways they’d done things back to front. That explosive rush of physical passion, and the first flush of an emotional bond, had blinded her to the fact they didn’t truly know each other.

Now she felt she was coming to understand what made him tick. How he thought and what had made him the intriguing combination of brutally decisive power broker and someone increasingly self-aware, trying to rectify past wrongs.

The more she discovered, the more she saw his efforts to be the man she’d once believed him, and the harder it became to keep her distance.

Was it any wonder she’d agreed to his invitation of an overnight trip to Vienna? She was intrigued and, truth be told, didn’t want to be left behind.

Dido was hyper-conscious of him beside her. The faint scent of warm, male skin. The frisson of awareness of his powerful body so close as he worked on his laptop.

That was another surprise. Far from living a life of indolent luxury, Panos worked, hard. He took his role of CEO incredibly seriously. As he took his role as a father.

And as a lover. Her thighs clenched as she remembered his deliberation and meticulous attention to her pleasure that had made sex with him the most transcendent experience of her life.

You want the whole deal. Lover, husband and father to your baby. You’re an inch away from agreeing to be his wife.

Except there’s one thing missing, isn’t there? Love. You told yourself it didn’t matter last time. Do you still believe that?

The trouble was that after all she’d been through, she was sure now that it was love she craved. That indefinable bond of soulmates. To be utterly precious to the man she married. Not just someone he felt he had to support because it was expected or because he’d done her wrong in the past. But because she held his heart as he held hers. Was that even possible? Despite his consideration, Panos spoke of marriage only in pragmatic terms, as being best for Athena.

‘Dido, is everything okay?’

She turned to find his attention not on the laptop but on her. That penetrating stare had softened. It struck her how often lately he focused on her wishes, her feelings.

Like a man learning to be considerate.

That wasn’t fair. She remembered him in the early days of their affair. He’d been exactly that—considerate. As well as amusing, sexy and engaging. It was only when he believed she’d betrayed him that he’d morphed into a monster.

‘Are you worried about Theeny? Do you want to call and check on her?’

She shook her head. After more than two years totally focused on her daughter’s care, she was surprised at how little she was fretting. Maybe that would come as the hours progressed. ‘I’ll wait until we’ve landed, thanks. I’m sure she’s fine.’

In fact, she’d be totally cosseted.

When Evadne returned to the island after her weekend away, she’d brought her niece who’d worked as an au pair overseas. The girl needed a job and Panos asked if Dido would give her a trial. He’d suggested it would allow Dido freedom for occasional short breaks.